Land of Waves
by junyortrakr
Summary: It all starts with a few changes after the fight with Zabuza on the bridge. Kaka/OC
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I never will, so leave me alone.

After watching some early episodes of Naruto, I happened upon some thoughts for what I considered a nice plot line. Mind you, this is set after most of the events after Kakashi's team has taken the bridge builder back to the land of the waves and dealt with many of the initial difficulties. I'm sure many more things will be made known to us after that, but, for this story, they aren't. I have also noticed many apparent difficulties with the technologies and such of the setting as shown to this point in the show. I will attempt to deal with them, and some of them will conflict with the actual show as it continues to unfold. Unfortunately, I can't see any easy way around it, so the changes will show up as necessary. I will explain some things in the actual story text, some in author's notes, and some I will leave up to the readers to ponder for themselves.

There will be few Japanese terms used other than those introduced in the show, but I will try to give an explanation of all I use. I will use the standard character names as much as possible, but when I need a name and cannot find it, I will create one. If someone does know a name I wasn't able to find, I would appreciate hearing it.

I really don't think the subject matter contained requires much of a rating, but, if I manage to pull this off at all, much of it probably won't make much sense to anyone that isn't well isn't already well into their teenage years. I personally enjoy a good story more than a series of marginally connected fight scenes, and I'm poor at writing the fights anyway, so this will focus on other areas of, primarily, Kakashi's world.

Anyway, enough of that: on to the story.

_In the Land of Waves_

Prelude

_The Aftermath_

Kakashi Hatake was actually glad he didn't have to finish off Zabaza, as, in the end, even he had demonstrated determination and even honor. In truth, he felt dead on his feet, and there was still a lot of work ahead of him. The fact that he'd lost significant quantities of blood from a serious slash in his left hand and a gash in his chest weren't helping any. Although his vest had taken the brunt of the punishment, he figured he still had at least 2 broken ribs and had lost a good deal of blood. This was going to make waking up after the last fight feel like a night at the hot springs.

He was also glad Zabuza had taken out Gato himself. It was rather surprising Gato would risk his own neck to be seen at such a relatively insignificant event, but it certainly made things easier since he had. Gato had undoubtedly left instructions to inform the tracker ninja from the City hidden in the Mist of the whereabouts of Zabuza and company. However, since the afore mentioned ninja were all dead, and there was the certain power struggle of those left after the big man had passed on, those remaining had almost certainly moved that notification down the list to somewhere after hauling out the evening trash.

Still, there were plenty of things that demanded. It seemed the locals were doing well enough, having driven off Gato's hired thugs, so at least that wasn't going to be his concern. Dealing with the bodies of the fallen ninja, though, was. He sighed: it was time to get on with it. Tazuna Hashidan, the bridge builder, was a man of local standing and just about his only contact; he hoped he would be enough.

"Hashidan-san, Sakura-san, Naruto-kun, I need you here--_now_!" Kakashi shouted from the side of the bridge where he was leaning.

Naruto was the first to arrive, although he looked less that enthusiastic about doing so. "Naruto-kun, take these sample bags and fill one with blood from Haku-kun and one with blood from Zabuza-san. I realize this is will be difficult for you to do, but it is very important. Our medical specialists would much prefer their entire bodies for study, but they will have to be satisfied with a blood sample; I won't allow them to defile the bodies, however much they may desire it. If you wish, save a few senbon or such to remember Haku-kun by. Everything else will be buried with the bodies. Do you understand?" Kakashi demanded.

"Yea, but..." Naruto whined.

"Good. Do it _immediately_. This is critical," Kakashi interrupted.

"But..." Naruto started.

"_GO--NOW!_" Kakashi shouted, causing Naruto to scurry to accomplish the task.

Tazuna and Sakura came up, trailed by Sasuke, who was now sans needles. They hurried as they heard Kakashi shouting orders at Naruto. "You wanted us, sensei?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "Hashidan-san, I need you to find me a sailor with a boat capable of carrying himself, Naruto-kun, and Sakura-san to near the port of Kakou tonight. Although I can only give a small advance at the moment, Sakura-san will be able to pay him the balance upon arrival. It is critical that the boat is ready to leave as soon as it can be prepared. I also need some paper and pen for messages."

"I'll see what I can do," Tazuna said, barely managing to keep the grumble out of his voice. Still, he immediately moved to collar one of his neighbors he knew to be trustworthy.

"Sakura-san," Kakashi continued, "I am trusting you to lead this mission. Sasuke-san and I are too injured to come with you, so you'll do it with Naruto-kun, but I'm placing you in charge. I'm going to be writing a letter for the hokage's eyes only. I will seal the letter with my blood, and you are to show it to noone other than the hokage himself. To gain an audience with him, I give you this kunai. They will recognize it, and it should allow you to talk with him alone. The secrets contained in the bodies of Zabuza-san and Haku-kun are of immense value, and they must be treated as such. Because all these rogue Hidden Mist ninja are dead, I don't think you'll have any difficulties, but you can't be too careful. Once you reach the coast, you are to draw the rest of the sailor's payment from our detachment there, and have them send you to headquarters_ immediately_. They will provide transport and a driver, and you must not stop until you have reported to the hokage. If you cannot protect the blood samples, destroy them. Can you do this?"

"I don't know, sensei. I'm not ready for this. They didn't teach us any of this this in class," Sakura almost sobbed.

"You must, Sakura-san," Kakashi encouraged her, placing his good hand on her shoulder. "As I said, the trip will almost certainly be uneventful, and Naruto-kun will be with you."

"Yes, sensei," Sakura answered determidly.

Tazuna then approached carrying some of his personal writing supplies and bringing a man. "This is Ichiro Kawamura-san. He's an old friend who's an excellent sailor and has a boat that will meet your needs. Tell him what needs to be done, and he'll get to it right away. Also, here's some stuff to write on. I wasn't quite sure what you needed, so I brought a selection."

"Thank you, Hashidan-san. They'll do nicely. Sakura-san, go help Naruto-kun prepare for the trip. You'll need to get a cooler filled with enough ice to keep the blood samples cool. When you're ready, wait for Kawamura-san and I near the end of the bridge. I'll join you as soon as I tell Kawamura-san what he needs to know. Kawamura-san, if you'll join me here, I'll show you exactly where to go, and I'll get you your advance," Kakashi said.

In truth, Kakashi never did really remember any more details after that. He had foggy memories of writing notes, giving instructions, and seeing a boat sail off into something that would always seem, no matter how often he recalled it, fade to black...

**Authors notes**

-san A general way to address someone as you would use Mr. or Ms.

-kun About the same as -san, except that it is normally only used for young men.

-sensei A form of address usually used for teachers, doctors, and such

kunai ninja throwing knife

senbon throwing needles

This is where we start. Some of this does not match with the anime, and less of it will as the story goes on. I will probably be using approximately modern technologies from here on out, and that will surely mean things like cars, planes, and guns when needed. That will not be the focus of the story, but it will make it easier for my small brain to deal with. Don't worry, Kakashi won't need any of them for the next chapter, anyway.


	2. The Penetrating Eye

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own Naruto.

The fight on the bridge is over. What's going to happen to Kakashi after he wakes up?

_In the Land of Waves_

Chapter 1

_The Penetrating Eye_

Kakashi gradually became aware that he was in a room that seemed vaguely familiar. It was clearly a hot day with a light breeze that smelled and sounded like the ocean. As he slowly opened his eyes, he realized it was the same room at Tazuna-san's that he had been staying in. Unless he missed his guess, Tsunami-san was...

"Well, so 'shaingan-warrior-san' is finally awake," Tsunami said coldly, scowling at him with her hands on her hips. "I guess last time wasn't good enough, so you had to go and get yourself really beat up this time."

"What? How long have I been out?" Kakashi asked.

"Almost 2 days. Father and a few other guys had to drag your sad carcass up here, pull you out of that silly uniform you always wear, and stuff you into one of Kaiza's old yukatas. It took me most of the afternoon to get you cleaned, sewed, and bound up. If you're lucky--_lucky_--your wounds won't get infected. I used what I had, but, even with the precautions I took, it just wasn't possible to know if they were completely sterile. Even if nothing else goes wrong, your left hand is a mess and will probably never completely recover, you have a nasty gash on your chest, and 3 broken ribs. That is beyond the fact that you lost a lot of blood and were so exhausted that you passed out on the bridge and banged your head on the concrete," Tsunami rattled off. "Shall I go on?"

Kakashi winced. Tsunami was on a roll now, and he'd thought Zabuza was scary. Still, he had to know how Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were doing. "That won't be necessary--I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a while. How's Sasuke-kun? Have you heard how Naruto-kun and Sakura-san are?"

"The kids are fine, or as good as can be expected. Sasuke-kun is still stiff and sore and looks like an oversized pin cushion, but he doesn't seem to be infected, so he should recover soon. Kawamura-san came by a little while ago to say he didn't even see another boat or plane until he was almost back. From what your man there said, he thinks they should have reported in very early this morning," she said.

"That's a relief," he said, preparing to sit up.

"Don't even _think_ about moving," Tsunami commanded. "I _will not_ have you reopening the wound in your chest. If it did, it would probably become infected, and then you would probably die. I _will not_ have you dying in my house."

"Yes, Tsunami-san," was all he could say, relaxing back onto the futon. At that moment, his shaingan kicked in, and he noticed a few little things that had eluded him to that point. Funny, he'd never thought to use it in normal life, so the effect was limited by inexperience. Still, she looked tired, exhausted even. She said it had been almost two days, and he was now wondering how much, if any, sleep she'd gotten. Her clothes, usually fresh every morning, looked like the ones he'd seen her wearing the day of the fight. Her hair, usually hanging free and well combed, was bound up in a loose, high pony tail with wisps flying out at irregular angles. He remembered she'd been there immediately when he'd awoken. Her face, despite her best efforts to hide it, confirmed his theory: after losing two husbands, she was terrified at the thought that it could happen again. He was, however, at a loss of what to do with this newfound knowledge. For the moment, he contented himself with placating her wrath. Although she wouldn't truly hurt him, she appeared to have no qualms about making his life very unpleasant.

"Inari-chan, come her now!" she shouted. As soon as the summoned boy appeared, she immediately gave him instructions. "Inari-chan, stay with Kakashi-san until your grandfather gets home. DO NOT bother him. DO NOT talk to him unless he talks to you first. He is still very weak, and cannot do anything yet today. He may have recovered enough by tomorrow that you can talk to him then. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mom, but..." Inari started.

"No 'buts'. You will watch him until your grandfather arrives. You will do whatever he asks of you. Do you understand?" she asked, leaving no room for discussion.

"Yes, mother," he replied.

"Good. I'm going to prepare dinner now," she said, leaving the room after a quick glance at her patient.

The days went by quickly after that. At first, he couldn't move about much, but he was soon helping Tsunami with anything that only required one good hand: slicing food, working in the garden, cleaning. In fact, the more he did so, the more he found himself finding excuses to spend time with her. It wasn't that she was especially beautiful, although he did find her attractive. She wasn't particularly smart, either, although she was very skilled at the work at hand. She didn't have a nice, sugar-sweet personality, either. In fact, under the right provocation or stresses, she could quite convincingly live up to her name. She was clearly no longer a 20 year old virgin. In fact, she was a little older than he was and had a son, a son who clearly needed a father.

What she did have, though, was strength of character. She had endured the death of two husbands and still faced life with courage. She cared deeply about those important to her and gave her life for them, even if she often tried to hide it. In short, she was a very desirable woman, and he wasted no time in showing his appreciation.

Kakashi's appreciations were subtle, as would befit a jounin of his stature and wit. He slipped in small encouragements and compliments as the situation warranted. He helped where possible, sometimes taking care of little things before she even asked. As soon as he was able to go out, a single flower, a sea shell, some little bauble would appear with regularity. He was dealing with a mature woman who had endured hardships and earned respect, and he treated her accordingly.

As soon as he was able, he began to check out the tactical and strategic situation in the area. Although he was clearly in no condition for a serious fight, he doubted there would be any need to. Gato's thugs had been dispatched or disbursed, and the whole company was in what could simply be called a state of civil war. Because the island had been so poor, he hadn't even noticed a hint of permanent occupation by ninja from any of the rival cities. With a little effort, he could easily disguise himself as one of the homeless bums that frequented the city and move about relatively at will. He was, however, going to require Tsunami's help to do so.

"Tsunami-san, I need you to help me with a disguise so I can check out the current situation in the city. I was thinking I could look like one of those homeless..." Kakashi started before trailing off.

"Really? You want me to make you look like a bum?" Tsunami said, shooting him a withering glare. "I suppose you want me to do it right away, too."

"Well, that would be nice," Kakashi answered carefully.

"Fine, whatever," she huffed, turning to go and retrieve the materials she needed. "Men," she muttered under her breath as she left the room.

She ended up trimming and dying his hair and dressing him up in some of her dad's dirty, tattered work clothes that she hadn't had time to mend yet. She had lingered over the washing and dying of his hair. After all, she did like running her fingers through his hair, and he _had_ told her to do it. Not, mind you, that she was about to admit that to him. The final result, although definitely not what one would call pretty, was just what he was looking for.

Sasuke, who had been continuing his training as he recovered, was even easier. She managed to get some old clothes from a neighbor, and, after trimming his hair (she thought Sakura would consider it an improvement), he looked just like a local. As long as he didn't talk too much, most people would just assume he was some new kid who'd floated in on one of the ships Gato Corp. ran through regularly.

Kakashi and Sasuke spent most of the rest of the time there doing research on the actual economic and political situation in the Land of Waves. After poking around some, he found out that Gato Corporation's holdings weren't nearly as pervasive as everyone seemed to think. They had come in, forcibly acquired a couple of the largest shipping firms but had primarily resorted to hired muscle to keep the rest in line. In fact, the firms they had purchased weren't even particularly profitable or well located. They did have an impact far larger than their size, though, and they were known for dealing right at the edge of the law--and sometimes beyond.

Currently, though, the situation was unsettled. Because the city had been initially founded on the east side of the bay, most of the shipping firms, including the Gato holdings, were located there, as well. In light of current technologies, the northwestern and western sides held much more potential. Not only would they allow for better docking facilities with comparatively minor dredging and dock work, they were also situated so that they could easily connect up with the new rail and trucking facilities that were already planned or under construction. About all Gato Corp. would get out of this arrangement was a big tax bill to help finance the new construction. If Gato had been using more than a few brain cells, he would have bought up the good property and have been financing the bridge instead of blocking its construction. Not, mind you, that anyone was complaining about that oversight.

This should provide an opportunity for his country to gain a new ally with excellent port facilities in an area where they desperately needed them. However, time was of the essence, and he needed to return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to see if anyone would listen.

It only took him about 5 minutes to get his rucksack ready. The hard part was waiting for Tsunami to take her nightly stroll along the ocean. He had, of course, long since noticed it, but the time hadn't been right to join her. Tonight, though, was different. He decided to go and wait by a rock she frequented. If nothing else, it would give him something to do.

In fact, she surprised him. He'd been daydreaming, and the next thing he knew, she had sat down beside him. "I thought I'd find you here," she said lightly.

Kakashi chuckled. "It seems you had me figured. How'd you know?"

"Your clothes, nimwit, your clothes. It's the first time you ninja gear has been out of place since I hung it there. You really need to work on being more careful about such obvious things," she said somewhat smugly.

"A good point; I'll keep it in mind in the future," he said, pausing, making a mental note of her powers of observation. "You know we leave in the morning, don't you."

"Of course, idiot. Anyone could figure that out," she huffed, but the words didn't have any conviction to them.

He reached sightlessly into his pouch and pulled out a worn kunai, which he offered to her, handle first. "Take this. If things become serious, get this to me in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I will come."

She received it wordlessly, and laid it carefully beside her on the rock. She then reached up, pulled the scarf off her head, and tied it around his neck. "If you _ever_ get your sorry carcass beat up like that again, get this to me, and I will come."

"Shall we head back?" he asked, rising and offering her a hand. "Sasuke and I need to be across the bridge before sunrise tomorrow."

"Figures," she said rolling her eyes. "Now I have to get up early just to make you breakfast. Couldn't you just leave at a normal time like the rest of us? Sheesh."

Author's notes

-chan a form of address usually used for children or family members

shainganKakashi's special eye, a family trait

Well, I had fun with this chapter. From the first time I saw her handle him when he woke up, I liked Kakashi and Tsunami as a couple. Because they're both older and have seen a lot of life, the relationship won't have the really light, emotional fluff that the kids would have. He won't try to impress her with a flashy romance. He will, though, treat her with respect and show her that she is valued and precious in his eyes. For the most part, I don't see them dancing around much. It doesn't take long for them to realize there is an attraction, and while there is no reason for them to flaunt it, they aren't going to do much to hide it, either. In some ways, the relationship can move along more quickly because they have experiences in life. In other ways, it will be much more difficult. If that doesn't make sense, just wait a few years.


	3. Back in Kohana

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own Naruto.

_In the Land of Waves_

Chapter 2

_Back in Kohana_

On the way back to the house, Kakashi changed his mind. After all, why bother to get up so early when it would quite possibly be more effective to just use the disguises they already had? It wouldn't look at all unusual for them to be bumming a ride from slowly growing fleet of trucks that now serviced the newly accessible port. True, they wouldn't look as good, but he wasn't especially worried about that traveling anyway.

The trip itself was uneventful. Going the hitch hiker route probably took them at least an extra half a day, but they could relax doing so and pick up the latest dirt on the way. All in all, it was a good trade. A trucker hauling a shipment of lawn mowers, of all things, dropped them of in the warehouse district.

As luck would have it, Naruto, chatting with Sakura on their way back from the latest 'mission', saw Sasuke first. "Sasuke-kun?" Naruto asked somewhat cautiously, not quite believing what he saw.

Sakura whipped her head around and… She wasn't sure what to say. "Hi, Sasuke-kun," was all she could manage. The true bad-boy look wasn't what she'd expected.

"Hi, guys," Sasuke answered. "You didn't have any trouble on the trip back, did you?"

"It was awful! The boat ride was just horrible! I hate boats! Why couldn't we have just taken a car or something?" Naruto whined.

"Naruto-kun's just overreacting. We didn't have any problems. Well, none other than Naruto-kun got a little seasick on the way there," Sakura quickly interposed.

"A little seasick? I was puking my guts out the entire time. It stunk," Naruto shot back.

Sakura took advantage of the opening. "Of course it stunk: you were puking all over the place. I don't see what the big deal was. I mean, the seas were nearly calm. Just think what it would have been like in a storm."

Naruto turned green just thinking about the dreaded possibility.

"So what were you guys doing to get so dusty and smelly, anyway?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto, having recovered from horrible visions of the sea, answered. "Another stupid _E_ rank mission. They're the only ones they'd let us do without Kakashi-sensei here to supervise. They're so worthless that it takes _5_ of them to equal 1 D rank. All we've been doing for the last two weeks is checking emergency supplies in all the strongholds around town. Booorrrrinnnggg."

Sakura concurred enthusiastically. "_I_ even thought it was boring. I've never seen so many outdated emergency rations, musty blankets, and barrels of oiled kunai in my life. Yuk! Am I glad you guys are back. Uhh--Kakashi-sensei is back, isn't he?"

"Yea, he just went straight home."

"Figures," Naruto answered. "What took you guys so long, anyway? Was he really injured that badly?"

"No, we've been busy for the last couple weeks. He wanted to scope the place out to prepare for a new field office. I think he was just stalling for this last week so he could hang around with his new girlfriend, though."

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" Sakura immediately questioned. "You don't Tsunami-san do you?"

"Of course, who else would it be?" Sasuke answered. "It seems like a waste, though."

"A waste? What do you mean?" Sakura followed up.

"Kakashi-sensei's an elite ninja. You'd think he'd be able to do better than a common, plain looking, 30ish foreign widow with a kid…"

Sakura bristled. "She took care of you, and that's all you can say about her?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever. It's his loss, so I'm not going to worry about it. Unless you have more questions, I'm going home."

"Yea, I'm sure you're tired from traveling. I'll see you tomorrow," Sakura closed quietly, deciding not to push the issue. Besides, she had some juicy new gossip to share with Ino.

Shortly thereafter, Sakura burst into the Yamanaka flower shop to find, to her good fortune, Ten Ten and Hinata chatting with Ino about some inane subject. "Guys, I've got some exciting news!" she blurted out, completely disrupting the prior conversation.

Ino rolled her eyes. Sakura was just too predictable. Well, she'd just have a little fun with her. "I suppose Sasuke-kun's back and you ran over here just to tell us."

Sakura glared. "Sasuke-kun is back, but that wouldn't interest you, anyway. I've got something better than that."

By now, the other girls were listening intently, too. Ino ignored the insult. This was unexpected. "More interesting than Sasuke-kun? I thought he was all you thought about."

Sakura grinned to herself: she had them right where she wanted them. "Perhaps," she shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. "I guess I was wrong. I thought you'd be interested, but, since you're clearly not, I'll just be going."

Ten Ten glanced quickly at Ino. The girl was clearly to proud to lower herself to beg for the juicy tidbit she so obviously wanted. "Well, Ino-san might not be interested, but I am. Spill it."

Sakura cheered to herself: Sakura 1, Ino 0. "Well, since you asked nicely, I'll tell you. Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend."

The girls all blinked. Ino wasn't sure what to think. In this case, it sounded like her rival actually did have interesting news. Was it true, though? She had impeccable contacts, and none had said he even noticed anyone. "Well, who is it? I haven't even heard of a woman he'd even noticed, let alone gotten into a relationship with."

Sakura upped the tally: Sakura 2, Ino 0. "Of course not, silly: she's not from around here. Tsunami-san is from the Land of Waves, where we were just on a mission."

"Oh," Ino replied lamely. She recovered quickly, though. "Uh, what does she look like?"

Sakura rummaged around in her bag. "Just a minute, I think I've got a picture. Ah, here it is," Sakura said, producing the promised picture.

The girls quickly crowded around to look. Ino spoke first. "That's her?" She said, sounding skeptical.

This was the second person in a matter of minutes who'd put Tsunami down, and Sakura wasn't going to put up with it. "What's the matter, Ino? Is there something wrong with her?"

Ino was surprised at the instant hostility. "Uhhh--not really. I just figured he'd end up with someone younger, prettier, and…"

"And?" Sakura pushed.

"And without a kid," Ino continued somewhat weakly. "I just thought he'd end up with some hot, brainless bimbo after seeing his choice of reading material."

Just as Sakura was getting ready to strangle Ino, Hinata spoke up, surprising them all. "You're wrong, Ino," she said quietly. The others quickly looked her way. Her byakugan, know for its clarity of insight, was clearly in action. "Look at her eyes, her face, and the way she stands: she's a strong woman. She'll make him a fine wife."

Ten Ten and Ino took another, closer look at the photo. "Maybe I was a little too hasty," Ino said. "She just isn't that pretty, and, with the kid there, I just assumed she was divorced."

"She's a widow--twice," Sakura said.

"Twice?"

"Yes, twice. I think her first husband died in an accident at sea. Gato murdered the second one as an example to the city."

Ino glanced down at the photo again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. To think: she's been through all that, and she can still smile," Ino regained her normal composure. "Now, if you could just give us some of the juicy details…"


End file.
